Pakistan (MNN) ― The Taliban is directly threatening believers in northeastern Pakistan's Punjab province.
Jonathon Racho with International Christian Concern (ICC) says they've learned that on October 6, members of the Taliban sent threatening letters in Sargodha, Pakistan, warning Christian leaders to convert to Islam or face dire consequences.
A copy of the letter obtained by ICC warns Christians to convert to Islam, pay Jizya tax (an Islamic tax imposed on religious minorities), or leave the country. Racho says the letter warns, "If the Christians do not do any of the three, then they will be killed, their property and homes will be burned to ashes, and their women will be treated as sex slaves. And they themselves would be responsible for this."
Rev. Zaheer Khan, Pastor of Maghoo Memorial Church; Rev. Aamir Azeem, pastor of United Christians Church; and Rev. Zafar Akhter, pastor of United Presbyterian Church each received a copy of the threatening letter.
The Islamists also sent the letters to the following Christian institutions: St Peter's Middle School, Sargodha Institute of Technology, Sargodha Catholic High School, St. John's Primary School, and Fatima Hospital.
Besides the Christian institutions, the letter was also sent to the main Immam-Bar-Gha (Shiite Muslim's gathering hall).
Pray for believers to remain bold in Christ. Racho says Christians in Pakistan are soft targets for attacks by Islamic extremists. In the last four months, Muslims have killed 12 Christians because of their faith.
Racho goes on to say that it's likely to get worse before it gets better. "In Pakistan, many Christians are suffering because of the surge in activity by the Taliban, and the Christians are killed simply because of their faith in Christ. We're afraid that these attacks on Christians will continue to grow in the coming days."
Please contact the embassy of Pakistan in your country to bring this situation to their attention and ask them to protect Christians from violence. "We urge Pakistani officials to take the threatening letters seriously," says Racho, asking that the government "take measures to protect the Christians and their institutions from attacks."
Pakistani embassies:
USA: (202) 243-6500
Canada: (613) 238-7881
UK: 0870-005-6967
